Echo
by Cheshirekitsune
Summary: As the old saying goes; 'Never judge a book by its cover.' Demyx knew that his whole life, but that lesson still managed to surprise him. .:Oneshot:.


**Hello Kingdom Hearts fandom! Didja miss me? No? Thought so.**

**This is just one of those things that I wrote on a whim. The idea wouldn't leave me alone. Its funny, because I personally don't think this is my best writing, but my beta reader told me that if this fic was a person, she would date it. Color me surprised. owo**

**Anyway! I hope you enjoy this little oneshot of mine!**

**Kingdom Hearts (c) Square Enix  
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><p>Demyx knew things weren't always what they seemed.<p>

It was something they taught children all the time, a lesson that was constantly told. Don't judge a book by its cover. Everyone hides behind a mask. Never judge anything by what it appeared to be, for it would always find a way to surprise you.

True, he had forgotten (i.e. intentionally blocked out) those memories of that harsh lesson he learned as a Somebody. But the times it showed during his life as a Nobody was pretty entertaining. He had expected Xigbar to be terrifying, but found him to be fun beyond all reason. He thought Roxas would be a stuck up brat, but found him to be truly caring.

And then there was Zexion...

He was always so quiet. Always kept to himself. Demyx really didn't know what to think of him. He just knew that he liked him, a lot. He wanted to get to know him better. Damn shame he was shy about it.

Course, Kingdom Hearts, or whatever higher power there was, seemed to want to help him out.

"Number IX." Siax called, making him jump. What could the Luna Diviner possibly want? Demyx had only been in the Grey Room for a total of ten minutes! He wasn't even late!

"Yeah Siax...?" Demyx asked timidly, going up to his superior. He never liked Siax that much, and he held the impression that the blue haired Nobody didn't like him very much.

"I have your mission for today." Siax said simply, handing Demyx a piece of paper. Demyx looked it over quickly. Heartless elimination mission in Notre Dame, well that wasn't too difficult. Lure some Heartless to the river, drown them quickly and he'd have an afternoon off! Maybe Siax didn't hate his guts...

"And your partner will be Zexion." Siax added.

He stood corrected. Siax didn't dislike him. No no, he was determined to make Demyx's nonexistence a living hell.

Stuttering like an idiot, Demyx looked over his assignment again. Why in the name of Kingdom Hearts did he need a partner! Heartless elimination wasn't that difficult! They only sent them in pairs if it was a really troublesome Heartless.

_...Oh great._

"Ready yet, Demyx?" Zexion asked, making the Nocturne jump slightly. Why did Zexion always have to sneak up on people? The amount of times he had done it to Demyx should have resulted in a heart attack.

"Yeah, lets go..." Demyx said, squirming slightly. An entire mission alone with Zexion. What could possibly go wrong?

_-Notre Dame-_

The church towered over the city, beautiful and mysterious. A sanctuary to anyone and everyone who walked through the door.

And at the moment, it was also the hiding place of their target.

Smoke from hundreds of candles and incense burners hung thickly in the air, while sunlight poured in through the stain glass windows, leaving a pattern of colors on the floor. Statues stood silently against the wall, giving off the illusion that someone was standing there, watching their every movement. Their footsteps echoed as they walked. The entire place was far too quiet.

Demyx sighed, regretting it a moment later when his nose stung with the incense. He could only imagine how much this was killing Zexion. He cast a glance towards the Schemer. Zexion's brow was furrowed as his hand covered his nose slightly.

"Are you alright..?" Demyx asked.

"I will be." Zexion said simply, removing his hand and looking towards some of the statues. "But I'd prefer if we finish this mission quickly."

Demyx blinked slightly. Unless he was insane, he could have sworn Zexion's face was a little pink. But then again, they were standing under a stain glass window, so it was probably just a trick of the light and smoke. Shaking his head slightly, Demyx looked around the empty room again. He couldn't shake the nagging feeling that they were being watched. That Heartless was close by, it had to be. But where...?

"Do you think it's hiding in the bell tower?" Demyx said, peering into the distance to where he knew the towers were.

"Its possible." Zexion agreed. "We'll have to head up there ne-"

The Nobody's sentence was cut short as a long reptilian tail swung out of the gloom, hitting Zexion in the chest and sending him flying backwards. Demyx twisted on the spot and stared in horror at his partners crumpled form before turning to face the Heartless that had finally surfaced.

Black as a starless night, eyes a dull yellow, the creature advanced towards the fallen Zexion. It looked vaguely like a cross between a lizard and a wolf. Hissing softly, it crept towards the Nobody, who was just beginning to stir. Snapping out of his daze, Demyx summoned his sitar and ran behind the Heartless, aiming to attack its back. He barley strummed a note before he felt himself collide with the wall behind him. He opened his eyes in time to roll out of the way as razor sharp claws cut into the marble floor. Panicking, Demyx crawled behind a pillar to gather his bearings. The Heartless started after him, but let out a shriek as Zexion's fire spell collided with the side of its face.

How had that thing moved so fast! Demyx peered out from behind his pillar, watching Zexion fire more magic at the beast. It didn't appear to be having that much effect, the Heartless either dodged it or screamed when it got hit. Edging along the statue lined wall, the Nocturne tried to get behind the Heartless, but only succeeded in knocking over two candle holders, creating an impossible amount of noise.

The Heartless paused, ears twitching in the direction of the noise. It turned its head, and stared right at Demyx, who stood there frozen. It didn't advance at all, even though it was staring Demyx in the face. This confused the Nobody to no end. Why wasn't it attacking? It was looking right at him!

"Demyx! What are you doing!" Zexion cried, way off to the right. The beast whirled around with a roar and chased after him once more.

Demyx just stood there in shock. He understood why this Heartless was quick to attack and dodge. And why it hadn't attacked him.

The Heartless was blind.

Everything fit! Since the beast couldn't see its targets, it chose to hide in a place where sound echoed. The tricky beast was probably using its screams as a sonar! Demyx looked behind him to make sure his hunch was right, and was delighted to see the line of statues. The Heartless probably couldn't tell the difference between a person and a statue, witch is why it didn't attack him. Demyx's sense of triumph was replaced with horror as he saw Zexion being lifted off the ground. How on earth were they supposed to beat this thing when it could hear their movements before they could even make them! Everything in this church echoed!

The answer hit the Nocturne like lightning. He knew exactly what to do.

Grabbing a few fallen candle sticks, Demyx dove out from his hiding spot. The Heartless had thrown Zexion back against the wall and was tearing towards him.

"Oi!" Demyx cried, throwing the candle stick. It hit the Heartless' face, and the beast stopped again, turning its unseeing eyes towards Demyx. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zexion looking at him with wide eyes. Avoiding his gaze, Demyx turned tail and ran, his footsteps echoing off the stone walls.

The Heartless chased after him, determined to silence the cause of the noise.

Weaving through statues and pillars, knocking down who knows how many candles, Demyx ran for his life, the Heartless hot on his tail. It was obvious that the beast was out of its element, as its claws scratched and slid across the floor as Demyx suddenly veered to the left. Hearing the cry of rage that meant it hit the wall, Demyx wrenched open a door, making sure it made a loud bang. Without pausing to look back, he ran up the stairs behind the door. Up the stone steps onto the second floor, he continued to run. Through another door, up more steps, he ran flat out, gasping for air. He could hear the snorts and snarls of the Heartless behind him, and once or twice he felt those claws narrowly miss him.

After climbing what seemed like an eternity, stone finally changed to wood, and everything was more open. Demyx had reached the belltower. Not that he could stop and celebrate. He narrowly avoided another swipe from the Heartless. Now things were getting tricky. Diving behind a wooden pillar, Demyx tried to calm his breathing so that he wasn't panting like an animal. As silence began to fall, the black beast grew agitated. Letting out a shriek, it stalked forward, head swerving, trying to detect the smallest noise.

Silently, Demyx edged around the pillar, eyes scanning the room for something. Finally he found it, on a raised platform, a lone rope that hung from high in the tower. All he had to do was get to it quietly.

He almost made it there without a sound, but just as he climbed up to the platform, the wood beneath him gave a terrible creak. The Heartless' head snapped up and it dived at Demyx right as Demyx dived for the rope. The Heartless overshot its jump, and flew right over the platform and landed on the ground below. Hissing and spitting in rage, it twisted its head back up to where it knew Demyx was standing.

Demyx thought he heard a door open somewhere, but it was too late to check. Clutching the rope tightly in his hands, he took a running leap off the platform. The rope became taught with his weight, and slowly sunk down, before rising back up.

All around them, the bells began to ring. Crashing, echoing, like thunder on earth. The ringing reverberated in his very bones, and it was murdering his ears. Gritting his teeth, Demyx looked at the Heartless below him as he continued to sway up and down in time with the chiming of the bells. The poor creature had never expected to hear a sound as great as this, and it was writhing on the ground, screaming in agony. The bells were confusing it, it couldn't tell where it was going, what it was doing. It thrashed around, bumping into the pillars and the walls, trying desperately to escape the overwhelming noise.

As the bells began to quiet down, the Heartless fell forward with a final scream, and dissolved into smoke. A bright, shining heart emerged from the smoke, and floated slowly upwards and out one of the windows, no doubt making its way towards Kingdom Hearts.

Demyx silently slid down the rope, his feet touching the floor shakily. The bells had stopped ringing, but the air was still vibrating with the sound. Demyx himself was still reeling from the noise. But even though his ears were ringing terribly and he would love nothing better then to pass out right then and there, Demyx smiled up at the bells. Even when they were saving his life, they still created such a beautiful sound.

"Demyx..."

Speaking of beautiful sounds...

Zexion walked up to him now, battered and bruised from the Heartless attack. He was gazing at Demyx with a strange expression. Was that admiration, or had the bell chimes shaken his brain up?

"How did you know that would work?"

Of course he'd get right to the point.

"Its hearing was way too sensitive." Demyx said, leaning against a pillar behind him. "It could pick up the sounds of your spells. So hearing a dozen church bells up close drove it crazy."

"...And just how did you figure that out?"

It was an odd moment, Demyx thought, the Schemer asking him for information, for something he didn't know. The phantom of a feeling of superiority washed over the Nocturne, but he smiled sincerely, and, moving from his spot against the pillar, tapped the cover of the lexicon in Zexion's hands.

"You know, I don't know what kinda life you lead before hand... but the way I was raised was to never judge a book by it's cover. You know what I mean? For someone that reads as much as you do, I figure you would've gotten that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

It was cute, the scowl on the Schemer's face, but Demyx kept cool. "What I mean is, you read because you want to know what all books have to offer, right?"

"Yes."

"And as every book contains some sort of information, you don't judge credibility until you read them, right?"

"Yes...?"

"So! My question for you is, why aren't people the same way?"

For a moment, Zexion was silent.

"Now I know I ain't the brightest blub, and I'm not a hard worker, but if you get to know me and see what I can do, well..." Demyx tapped the side of his head, much like he did the cover, "I'm a tricky one~"

Zexion was still frowning slightly, but he quirked an eyebrow. "Are you challenging me, Demyx?"

Demyx gave a shrug. "Maybe, maybe not~"

How the hell he had managed to pull off being a tease without looking like an idiot, he would never know. But he did know that there was the tiniest traces of red dusting the smaller Nobody's cheeks. It was gone within the minute, but Demyx knew it had been there. It made him feel pretty good to know he had that effect on Zexion.

"You should know, I play to win."

Something about that tone made those good feelings fly right out the tower window.

"Oh?" Demyx said, pretty sure his face was sporting some pink now. He didn't like that smirk on the Schemer's face. Not at all.

"Yes. And I'm a pretty sore loser too." Zexion said.

"Well this explains why Luxord won't invite you to game night anymore." Demyx shot, trying to regain some ground. Dammit, Zexion only smirked wider at the comment. He had to fight back! "So what'll you do if you win? Or better yet if you lose?"

Zexion's smirk grew wider, and moving as fast as the Heartless had, he was in Demyx's face causing the Nocturne to flush and stumble back a bit.

"You'll just have to find out, won't you?" Zexion said, just inches away from the others lips.

And then he turned right around and walked off.

Demyx stood there, frozen like a gargoyle. He was sure that if he had a heart, it would have stopped beating. Who knew Zexion was such a tease! Demyx unfroze and looked to where the slate haired nobody had walked off, just in time to see Zexion cast him a challenging smirk.

Well then, game on.

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><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed! I'm just gonna...scuttle into a corner now. :'D<strong>


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